


The Blow-Up Doll and Her Little Angel

by Akurei5



Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:28:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28066236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akurei5/pseuds/Akurei5
Summary: Additional scenes surrounding Hera’s abduction by Boomer. Slightly AU. Focuses primarily on the thoughts of – and the interactions between – Helo, Athena, and Boomer. This is also my way of partially redeeming Boomer.
Relationships: Galen Tyrol/Sharon "Boomer" Valerii, Karl "Helo" Agathon/Sharon "Athena" Agathon, Karl "Helo" Agathon/Sharon "Boomer" Valerii (friendship), Sharon "Athena" Agathon/Sharon "Boomer" Valerii (sisters)
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Characters' thoughts are in italics.

(Setting: Boomer is in the brig on Galactica after she returned with Ellen Tigh.)

Boomer sat in the brig waiting for Galen to come by. She busied herself writing stuff down in her notebook. It felt so strange to be on Galactica again. She was finally in the brig originally built for her some years ago, but which had housed numerous other guests over the years. On her way to the brig, she had walked through the halls of the ship with a sense of nostalgia. Those days on Galactica before the attack were the happiest in her life. She had a tight-knit circle of friends that meant the world to her. Most important of all were her relationships with Chief Tyrol and Commander Adama, her lover and father figure, respectively. She prized the love and respect of these two men above all else.

Before reaching the brig, she passed through the hall where Cally had shot her. Her fond memories of Galactica were quickly driven away by those events following the shooting of Adama. Despite the gravity of her crime, seeing all her friends – the only family she had – turn on her in an instant was quite a shock to her. She was suddenly a non-person, a thing to be treated like a lab rat. The experience was terrifying. Worst of all, Galen completely forsook her. The things he said to her, in that moment, crushed her. She felt totally abandoned. The added traumas of getting shot by Cally and resurrecting on the base ship scarred her. She had never been able to fully accept that she was a Cylon, not fully. A tiny part of her still clung to the fantasy that this whole thing was a nightmare, and she would wake up on Galactica as a human, LTJG Sharon Valerii from Troy.

Digging through the stored memories, she found out that Cavil was the one controlling her while she was on Galactica. He was the one who sabotaged her human life. While Boomer eventually came to the realization that the occupation on New Caprica was doomed from the get-go, the fact that Cavil thwarted every effort at a genuine reconciliation between humans and Cylons did not go unnoticed by her. She could see now that Cavil was leading her down this path the whole time. Small wonder she came to believe in his philosophy when he was manipulating all the events in her life to lead to this inescapable conclusion. It made her feel helpless as if she had no control over her life, as if she never had a choice in anything. When Boomer confronted Cavil about everything, he argued that, even if she had not shot Adama or blown the water tanks, her treatment by the humans once she had been exposed as a Cylon would have been just as cruel. After that conversation, she no longer trusted Cavil even if she still agreed with his ideology. She continued to ally herself with him and remained in his company (if for no other reason than) out of sheer cynical necessity: she had burned her bridges with everyone else. But with no one left to trust, she felt alone. Bereft of love, she did her best to embrace her machine nature.

Someone knocked on the glass. She turned her head to see who was there and was surprised by who it was: Helo. The last time she saw him was through the window of the raptor as she flew away leaving him to his fate on Caprica. Somewhat curious as to what he might say, Boomer stood up and slowly walked over to the receiver on her end. As she approached, Helo came into clearer view through the glass and metal wiring of the brig. Boomer was a bit taken aback by how much his appearance had changed. He looked older, not that he appeared frail or wizened, but so much more mature. When she remembered him sucking that lollypop during card games, she thought he looked like a dopey overgrown kid. Now, he carried himself like a leader and appeared to have been hardened by his experiences in life.

She slowly picked up the receiver and placed it against her ear. Helo did likewise.

“Hi,” Helo said coolly.

“Hi,” Boomer replied, “not who I was expecting to see.”

Helo smiled.

“It’s been a while,” Helo said.

“Yeah,” she let out a faint smile.

“How are you holdin’ up in here?” Helo asked.

Boomer looked around as if to say as well as possible given the circumstances, “I’m okay.”

Helo tried to lighten the mood a little bit.

“I heard that you landed the bird pretty smoothly this time around,” Helo remarked referring to Boomer’s most recent landing on Galactica with Ellen aboard.

Boomer could not help but laugh, “yeah, I don’t botch my landings anymore.”

“Yeah, if you had stuck around, you probably would have made CAG by now,” Helo joked. He thought this comment might be too crass, but he figured she could at least appreciate the sheer absurdity of everything that had transpired since the days before the attack.

“Yeah, right!” Boomer replied sarcastically.

A few seconds passed, and neither one of them said anything. Serious expressions returned to their faces.

“Look…ugh…” Helo paused before continuing, “I know a lot ’s happened since we saw each other last…but…I still care about you. When I look at you, I don’t see a Cylon…or an enemy. I still see my raptor co-pilot and my friend from back then. Maybe that’s foolish on my part, but that’s how I feel.”

She gave a faint smile, “thanks, Helo. That means a lot. It really does.”

Boomer’s words were not insincere. During her time on Galactica, she did consider Helo to be one of her closest friends and a part of her family.

“I missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

“I’ll stop by again in a couple days, let me know if there’s anything I can do!” Helo said returning a faint smile. He was about to hang up the receiver when Boomer stopped him.

“Helo!” Boomer called out to him through the receiver.

“Yeah?” Helo asked putting the receiver back to his ear.

“Can I ask you a question?”

He nodded.

“about you and…Athena…on Caprica,” Boomer added.

This seemed to catch Helo off guard.

“I should give you credit for not simply accessing her memories after she resurrected the last time.” Helo commented in jest.

Boomer did not say anything. She looked down for a moment, and then her eyes darted back up to him.

“You already did?” Helo asked slowly dropping his smile and adopting a sterner tone.

She blinked her eyes as she gave a slight nod. He looked disappointed, but not surprised.

“I’m sorry. I was too curious not to,” she tried to explain.

“Well, you already know what happened then! Why ask me anything?” His tone of voice suggested that he felt as though his privacy had been breached, but it also suggested that he had resigned himself to the fact that he was powerless to do anything about it.

“I know her version of events,” Boomer corrected him, “but not yours.”

Helo did not say anything but stood there calmly waiting for her question.

“On Caprica, you found out Athena was a Cylon, but you brought her back to Galactica anyways. It didn’t bother you?…what she was?” Boomer asked.

“Of course, it did. At first…I was shocked and felt betrayed. But…eventually I realized…that…it didn’t matter if she were human or Cylon. She was a person either way, and I loved her all the same. It was her actions and choices that defined who she was.”

“But you thought you were falling in love with me? Then it turned out it wasn’t me.”

“That’s true. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, I was actually falling in love with her. You must have known that I had strong feelings for you because even the Cylons knew, otherwise they wouldn’t have sent Athena to me in the first place. But she’s the one I came to love. I ended up loving her…more than I ever could’ve loved you,” Helo paused before continuing, “I don’t mean anything by that…”

“It’s okay,” Boomer interrupted him.

“I just mean that she and I are perfect for each other in a way that you and I never could’ve been…like two pieces of a puzzle that fit together perfectly…like…”

“Like you were made for each other?” Boomer finished his thought.

Helo nodded in agreement. Boomer looked down reflecting on his words.

“I’m glad you made it off Caprica. I never would’ve thought in a million years when I flew away that day that I’d see you again.”

Helo was about to mention that he never would have made it off Caprica if not for Athena, but he decided not to as he did not wish to put her on the spot by implying that he expected or wanted her to return. He also wanted to ask about everything that had happened to her since then. But he felt reluctant to broach those topics now fearing that it might ruin their short but pleasant reunion. All he managed to say was a simple, “yeah, me too.”

After a short pause, he figured she did not have any more questions, so he concluded their conversation by saying, “I’ll see you later.”

“Bye.”

He hung up the receiver and headed for the hatch.

Boomer watched Helo as he made his way toward the exit. _Maybe if Galen had stood by me when I needed him most, like you did with Athena, things could have turned out so much differently…_ , Boomer thought to herself, _Helo, I know you will never be able to forgive me for what I have to do. But please do not think that I do not value the friendship we had! I do. I loved you. I still do. Not in the way you had wanted, but in my own way. I cannot say the same about your wife, Athena. I loathe her. She slithered onto this ship like the snake that she is and stole my life, my friends, and even my commission in the Colonial Fleet. I want her to know what that feels like. I want her to know what it feels like to have her family taken from her by one of her “sisters.”_


	2. Chapter 2

(Setting: the Agathon quarters on Galactica after Boomer left with Hera.) 

Athena slowly moved about their quarters in a torpid state.

“Look at me!” Helo commanded sternly trying to get her attention.

Despite Helo’s attempts, she refused to acknowledge him.

“Gods frakkin’ damnit!” Helo walked off to the side.

“Did you enjoy it?” Athena asked in scornful manner.

“What?” Helo asked in confusion.

“I wanna know…if…while I was beaten up, hog-tied, and stuffed in a locker…you enjoyed frakking her?” Athena asked him. She could not contain the venomous spite she felt towards Helo one second longer; it was beginning to erupt.

Helo looked at her and saw seething rage. Yet at the same time, this rage was combined with a numbness, a numbness which gave rise to caustic questions like this. He had not seen her like this since they thought Hera was dead the first time.

_Why does she have to do this?_ Helo thought to himself, _she knows I thought I was making love to her, not Boomer._

“I wanna know if you enjoyed basking in the afterglow of that frak while our daughter was getting abducted?” Athena asked in an even more scathing tone of voice.

Helo would not have thought it possible a few minutes ago, but he was starting to feel irate at Athena’s questions.

“Sharon, stop it!” Helo raised his voice.

“How the frak could you not have known?” Athena asked.

The sarcasm was gone from her voice this time, and Helo detected feelings of hurt and betrayal in it. Strangely, he was reminded of the hurt and betrayal he saw in the eyes of the Eight after the destruction of the resurrection hub when he took D’Anna to Roslin alone. The expression on Athena’s face was almost the same as that on the Eight he betrayed under Roslin’s orders. Helo felt an immeasurable sense of guilt wash over him at Athena’s last question. He sighed heavily but did not say anything. What could he say? Something did seem a little off in the locker room, but he did not give it much thought at the time. He figured she was just a little nervous about the upcoming six-day mission, and he himself was partially lost in thought over his CAG duties. But in the end, Helo told himself that there was ultimately no excuse. She did seem different, and he should not have overlooked it. On top of the guilt, Helo felt like a frakking idiot for having been blindsided like this. And now, Helo thought, he was suffering the consequences of his carelessness. He could not even look himself in the mirror: he felt so disgusted with himself. Athena closed the distance between them. Helo looked into her eyes and saw the unbridled rage within.

“Maybe…maybe…you knew,” Athena said her voice choking as fresh tears fell from her bloodshot eyes, “I mean…after all…deep down… she was the one you really wanted all this time, right?”

Helo was speechless at her accusation. Her questions were making him truly angry. He did not know what to say, but he looked at her with an irate expression on his face and started shaking his head as if to tell her how wrong she was.

“I was just a substitute cos you couldn’t have the real thing, huh?” Athena accused bitterly.

At this point, each of her words tore into him. He knew she did not mean what she was saying. She was in pain and wanted him to be in pain as well. She wanted to lash out. She wanted him to know what a frak-up he was. But in truth, Athena was just as mad at herself for not taking more thorough precautions to safeguard Hera, such as a password with the daycare or something. Nevertheless, her words were getting under Helo’s skin at this point, and his own anger was beginning to boil over.

“I’m glad you finally got to frak Boomer,” Athena started shouting, “don’t mind your beaten-up wife stuffed in a locker or your daughter being stolen and dissected!”

Helo could not take anymore. He had to get away from her before something was said or done that they’d both regret. He walked straight towards the hatch, opened it, stepped out, and closed it just slowly enough for Athena to land one more spiteful jab. 

“Hope it was worth it!” Athena yelled.

With that, the hatch to the Agathon quarters slammed shut. Almost immediately, Athena started sobbing uncontrollably. She fell to her knees and curled up like a ball on the floor. She called out for Hera. Then, she screamed at the top of her lungs. Athena was overcome with anguish. She was almost certain that Hera would be dead soon, if not already. She felt nothing but anger towards those around her: Helo for his inability to distinguish Boomer from her in the locker room, Galen for his selfish desire to save Boomer from the rebel Cylons, Adama for his stubborn refusal to permit any rescue attempt from The Colony, and the deck crew for their carelessness in allowing her daughter’s abduction. Despite her frustration with them, it was nothing compared to the malice she now bore toward Boomer.

Boomer stole her daughter and frakked her husband. It made Athena seethe with rage. Yet even this rage was overshadowed by her grief at the fate that would befall Hera in Cavil’s hands. While the overall mission was a nefarious errand on behalf of her new puppet master, it was clear to Athena that Boomer’s actions were also motivated by bitter spite, spite at the fact that Athena had built a life for herself aboard Galactica and that she had a child with a man she loved, a man who loved her back and accepted her for what she was. Deep down, this was all Boomer really wanted. And Athena knew it. At some point, Boomer concluded she would never have this and fully embraced Cavil’s toxic ideology, an ideology engendered by the belief that coexistence between man and machine was antithetical and born out of resentment at having been designed to not fit in either world. However, Athena not only proved the opposite point but also stood as a personal affront to Boomer. For both reasons, Boomer wished to destroy Athena.

Boomer knew that Hera was Athena’s _raison d’être_. Absconding with Hera would not only fulfill her mission to Cavil but would also crush Athena psychologically. Boomer knew that Helo’s love and fidelity were the source of Athena’s strength, without which she could not have endured the difficult times. Although frakking Helo allowed Boomer to maintain her cover and complete her mission, doing it in the presence of Athena, in the ultimate act of sadistic revenge, also provided her with an opportunity to fracture the trust that had hitherto held their family together so tightly. 

Athena cried her heart out writhing in misery on the floor not daring to cling to even the faintest glimmer of hope that Hera might still be alive. She cried and cried until she had no more tears left. She felt dead inside. She barely got through the loss of Hera the last time; she did not know how she would get through it this time.


	3. Chapter 3

Helo walked aimlessly around the ship. He was not going anywhere in particular, just trying to get away from his wife for a little while. He went to the brig and spoke with Tyrol. He knew Tyrol was partly responsible for what happened to Hera, but Helo did not go there to point the finger. He thought it might help ease his mind if he could at least understand what was going through Tyrol’s head at the time. Helo reassured himself that he, Athena, Boomer, and Tyrol were not in some sort of a weird, frakked-up love rectangle, but at times like this, just like when he first returned to Galactica with Athena, it was a little vague. The fact that Athena had memories of being with Tyrol made things confusing at first. And now after the recent events with Boomer, he felt like he had been unwillingly inserted into the drama of Tyrol and Boomer’s relationship. Even though Helo believed the sex, for Boomer, was merely the physical act to maintain her cover, and any feelings he himself once held towards her had long since subsided, the whole experience made him feel kind of dirty, and he resented being unwittingly put in this situation.

The conversation with Tyrol was far less comforting than Helo had thought it might be. Tyrol asserted that all the Eights were essentially soulless automatons because he, as part of the final five, made them that way. The way he talked about the Eights deeply perturbed Helo, and he did not believe a word of it. He was pretty sure Tyrol did not believe it either. It was just his way of expressing his anger and frustration. Despondent, Helo returned to his quarters late at night.

Athena was sitting on the bed staring into space with a blank expression on her face. She did not acknowledge his presence. He walked over to the dresser and began to change. He heard Athena get off the bed and walk towards him, but he did not turn to face her. She gently placed her right hand around his. Helo stopped changing at her touch. 

“I didn’t mean what I said earlier…I was angry…I…” Athena trailed off.

“It’s okay,” Helo reassured her.

He turned to face her. She looked haggard. Her hair was disheveled. Her face was red. Her cheeks were puffy and glistened in the dim light where the tears had dried. Helo pulled her in for a hug, and she wrapped her arms around him.

“You were right. I should’ve known. There’s no excuse.”

“You couldn’t have known, not if she didn’t let you…”

“You know that had I known, I never would’ve…”

“I know,” Athena cut him off.

He pulled back so that he could look into her eyes, “it’s important to me you know that.”

Athena slowly blinked her eyes before replying, “I know, Karl.”

“You must be tired, let’s lie down!” Athena suggested. Helo nodded, and they lay down together.

There was some distance between them as they lay in bed. He took her hand in his, and their fingers intertwined. 

“Where’d you go?” Athena asked.

“Walked around the ship…then I went to the brig…spoke with the Chief,” Helo answered.

“What’d you guys talk about?”

“the obvious”

“What’d he say?”

Tyrol’s words were still ringing through Helo’s ears, “ _they’re all the same, Karl. She[Athena] is a blow-up doll. They all are. Athena, Sharon, Boomer. Call ‘em what you will. They’re all the same. Because we made them the same. Don’t blame yourself, but you can’t trust ‘em. You can’t trust any of ‘em.”_

“Nothing worth repeating,” Helo responded.

“That bad, huh?” Athena asked.

“Yeah. I kinda see him in a different light now. He didn’t know Boomer was gonna take Hera, but he must’ve known that for Boomer to escape, she would have to impersonate you. And to do that, she would have to incapacitate you. Clearly, that didn’t seem to bother him too much. He also didn’t seem to mind knocking out that other Eight and using her body as a decoy for Boomer in the brig. I don’t know…I thought he had…better judgement than that,” Helo said.

“Yeah, I’m surprised…and disappointed. I considered him my friend, but after this…I can’t forgive him,” Athena commented.

“Ever since he found out he was a Cylon, he’s been different. I guess with…Cally suddenly dying…and finding out he wasn’t Nicky’s father…it’s like his whole world fell apart. The only thing he had left was his love for Boomer. He desperately wanted to save her.”

“That’s still no excuse for what he did.”

“I know, but it’s hard not to feel for the guy. I’m more shocked at what Boomer did.”

“Yeah?”

“I can’t believe she would take our child. I didn’t know she was capable of something like that. She was my good friend…someone I trusted my life with in the raptor…we had each other’s backs when…” before Helo could finish, Athena cut him off.

“That’s your problem, Helo! She’s not that person anymore. Her experiences since then have changed her, and not for the better. At first, I sympathized with her. On Galactica, she didn’t know what she was, and she had hidden protocols waiting to be activated. Whether it was blowing up water tanks or shooting Adama, she wasn’t in control of her actions and couldn’t really be blamed for them. She was a victim. But after she was resurrected, she made her own choices, and she made some poor ones, starting with the occupation on New Caprica. Then she almost killed Hera,” Athena was then interrupted by Helo.

“What? When was this?” Helo asked.

“On the base ship…after you shot me, and I resurrected there. Boomer almost killed her.”

“I didn’t know that. Why’d you never tell me?”

“I don’t know…I told myself that she really wouldn’t have gone through with it…that she couldn’t have gone through with it. But I was just kidding myself. If Six hadn’t intervened at the right moment, Boomer would’ve done it.”

Helo let out a heavy sigh of disappointment at hearing what his old friend nearly did to his child. The fact that she once again held his child in her custody made a cold shiver run down his spine. 

“And now this? I’ve lost any shred of sympathy I once had for her. If I ever see her again, I’ll frakkin’ kill her,” Athena said.

Helo preferred to be more optimistic about retrieving his daughter alive and found his wife’s talk about killing Boomer to be unsettling. Nobody was perfect, and Helo knew his wife had a vindictive streak. Still, he agreed that Boomer’s actions were unforgivable.

Helo pulled Athena in close and embraced her. She leaned into his embrace.

“I’ve always thought you and I shared a special bond. There’s no one in the world I trust more than you. I love you so frakkin’ much,” Athena said.

“I feel the same way,” Helo responded kissing her on the forehead.

“Destroying our relationship is precisely what Boomer would’ve wanted. She believes humans and Cylons don’t belong together. Where better to start than breaking up the only human-Cylon family? Not to mention her personal grievances against me.”

“What personal grievance against you?”

“I think she thinks I stole her life…or effectively replaced her on Galactica.”

“That’s ridiculous! You earned your life here in spite of everything she did, not because of it.”

“She doesn’t see it that way. It doesn’t matter anyways,” Athena stopped talking and started choking up, “I want Hera back. I want her in my arms,” She stopped again as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.

Helo hugs her more tightly.

“If anything happens to her, I don’t know what I’m gonna do. Our baby girl…I can’t go through losing her again…I can’t live without her,” Athena said.

“You won’t have to, we’re gonna get her back,” Helo reassured her.

“How? How the frak are we gonna get her back, Helo?” She started raising her voice at the end of her question.

“Trust me! We’re gonna get her back, and everything is going to be all right,” Helo said.

Athena did not know why his confidence made Hera seem all the more gone. She thought Helo was delusional not to see the obvious truth that Hera was already dead and in a hundred pieces by this point. The last thought made her scream in mental anguish as she started to cry again. She screamed as loud as she could to drive away these painful mental images.

“Sharon!” Helo called out to her.

His pleas fell on deaf ears; Athena was inconsolable and lost in her own world of agony, a place that not even Helo could reach. Gradually, they drifted off to sleep together.


	4. Chapter 4

*****The Colony*****

Boomer handed Hera over to Cavil, who then advised her to take a rest after her tiring mission. But Hera’s cries for Boomer as she was taken to the room with the other Cylon models broke Boomer’s heart. She went to her quarters on The Colony and started crying uncontrollably.

_What am I doing?_ Boomer asked herself, _that little girl did not do anything to deserve this. Even though I was cruel to her, she was kind to me even though she knew I was not her mother. She showed me kindness…she showed me…love. Perhaps…she was the only person who ever loved me unconditionally. God, how frakked up is that? Galen shunned me when he found out I was a Cylon and only accepted me again once he found out he was one too. Did I betray Galen? Did I? No! He betrayed me! He abandoned me when I needed him most. I was scared and alone, and I did not know what was happening to me. I needed his help…his support…his love. Adama never could forgive me for shooting him. But it was not my fault, I was a sleeper agent; I was not in control of my actions. I never would have shot Adama of my own volition. He was like a father to me. And Cavil…he has just been using me this whole time. With Galen being a Cylon, we never could have had kids. We never could have fulfilled our dream with that house on Picon. We never could have had a daughter. That is all I wanted in the end: a child with Galen. That would have been love._

Boomer recalled Ellen’s words, _“We didn’t limit you. We gave you something wonderful. Freewill. The ability to think creatively. To reach out to others with compassion. To love.”_

And Boomer recalled her response, _“Love? Who? Humans? Why would I want to do that? Who would I want to love?”_

_Of course, the answer was obvious. But, in the end, Galen and I never really had a chance. Insane as it is to think about, Hera is the closest thing I will ever have to a daughter. Being with her in that imaginary house, it felt like she was my daughter. I mean…Athena and I are genetically identical…doesn’t that make Hera my daughter in a way? And…and I just handed her over to Cavil and the other Cylons who will use her as a lab rat. I handed my daughter over to them. Oh God, what have I done? What has happened to me? How did I become such a monster?_

Boomer sobbed uncontrollably. But she also did so silently, not wishing to rouse the suspicion of the other Cylons who might then begin to question her resolve. She fell to the ground and lightly hit her head against the floor.

_Why is every…frakking…decision I make…the wrong one? Why did I even frak Helo? I could have knocked him out and absconded with Hera in time to avoid detection. Was I doing it to spite Athena? Maybe…maybe there was another reason. I knew Helo loved Athena unconditionally. He accepted her for what she was and loved her so deeply…more deeply than Galen or anyone ever loved me. Maybe I wanted to experience what it felt like to be Athena…to be loved in that way? To experience the kind of love and acceptance I never received. I thought what I did to Athena would serve her right. I thought it would bring me satisfaction. But it has not. It has only brought me more pain. How could I have been so wrong?_

Boomer lay down to try and rest. As she drifted off to sleep, she dreamt about everything that had happened to her and all the decisions she had made. She called out to Athena.

_Athena!_

Then Boomer addressed Athena in a way that she never had before.

_Sister! Athena! Sister, I’m so sorry. I was so wrong. And you…you were right. Please forgive me!_

A voice replied to her through the ether.

Athena: _I can’t forgive you. You took my daughter. You tried to destroy the trust between Helo and I. I could never forgive you._

Boomer: _Unlike you, I never had a chance._

Athena: _I agree, while you were a sleeper agent, you never had a chance. But you were responsible for your decisions after you were resurrected: New Caprica, Hera, siding with Cavil?!?!? That’s on you! Had you returned to the fleet after your resurrection, I would have vouched for you! I would have used whatever clout I had with Adama and the others to explain things on your behalf. But what did you do? You tried to make me second guess my decisions. You impersonated me…you stole my daughter. Of all the cruel motherfrakkers out there in this world, human and Cylon alike, who did you unleash your rage against? Me! Your sister! You frakked me over! I guess that’s what you wanted._

Boomer: _No, I thought that’s what I wanted, but no. All I wanted was the unconditional love of a husband and child, like what you had. That’s all I ever wanted!_

Athena: _You want to talk about love? Galen and Helo probably had more unconditional affection and concern for you than any other human or Cylon in the world. You frakked the both of them up real good on your last visit. You spat in the face of their love._

Boomer: _Frak you! Who the frak are you to judge me? You don’t know what I’ve been through!_

Athena: _Oh! And you know what I’ve been through?_

Boomer: _Yes! I accessed your memories._

Athena: _…_

Boomer: _The things those humans did to you…the way they treated you…it’s unforgivable._

Athena: _Yes, the way some of the humans treated me was unforgivable. But…there was a flip side as well. The love and devotion that Helo showed me…was something that I didn’t know was possible in this world. The pure joy that my daughter brought me. The trust that Adama placed in me and the fatherly affection that he displayed towards me. The three of them are more than worth everything I went through._

Boomer: _You deserve that happiness. It’s something I’ll never have. I realize that now. I just want my nightmare to end. I’m at your mercy, sister._

Athena: _Save Hera!_ _Save my baby girl! Please! Save my little angel! Bring her to me and I’ll make your death swift and painless. But you won’t be alone; I’ll be with you in the end. You won’t need to be afraid._

Boomer: _I’ll do as you ask. If I must die, I’d rather it be by your hand than anyone else’s. My time with Hera triggered something in me…my maternal instinct maybe?...I…I love Hera too, sister. I’ll save her._

Boomer reached out into the ether. Then she felt a warm presence surround her…it embraced her. She thought it might be Athena.

*****Galactica: Agathon Quarters*****

Athena suddenly woke up in the middle of the night. She had a vivid dream of herself and Boomer talking everything over. She dreamt the two of them reached a mutual understanding of some kind? Her stirring woke Helo.

“Sharon?” Helo asked, “Is everything…”

Helo stopped himself before finishing his sentence knowing that nothing would ever be okay until Hera was back in their arms.

“No, I think it might be,” Athena finished his thought, “I think things might actually turn out okay.”

Helo smiled, happy with his wife’s new attitude, “Yeah! We just need to have faith. We’re gonna get Hera back, and everything’s gonna be fine.”

“Hold me!” Athena told Helo.

He took her in his arms, and she basked in the warmth of his embrace.

“We’ve gotten through so much together. We’re gonna get through this too. I promise,” Helo said.

Athena kissed him in response.

*****The Colony*****

Boomer woke up from her dream, “I’ll keep my promise, Athena. I’ll protect Hera. I swear.”


End file.
